Accelerating Improvement through Inquiry

A joint initiative of the Boston Public Schools, the Boston Plan for Excellence, and the Boston Teacher Residency program, Accelerating Improvement through Inquiry (AI²) aims to raise graduation rates and accelerate gains in student learning while building the capacity of teacher leaders and school-based administrators to lead school improvement efforts. AI² takes the activities featured in Boston’s Essentials of Whole-School Improvement to the next level, helping school teams track each student’s progress toward graduation and using a structured inquiry method to identify and refine strategies that improve student outcomes.

AI² builds on a two-year pilot initiative, called SAM (Students Achieve More)-Boston, developed by BPE in collaboration with New York's New Visions for Public Schools and Baruch College. BPE continues to contribute lessons and resources to the national SAM blog, drawing on work with AI² schools.

How it works

The AI² inquiry process occurs at four levels: individual teachers as they plan and adjust instruction; content-area teams as they diagnose student learning needs and implement changes in practice that address them; instructional leadership teams (ILTs) as they monitor student performance and school-wide improvement efforts; and the district’s central office as it improves its support to schools. Each cycle begins with individual student data, helping teams and individuals see where students are compared with BPS performance targets. Inquiry participants plan and implement changes in practice that they hypothesize will lead to gains in performance, then assess the impact of those changes, and refine or learn to implement new strategies until performance improves.

As opposed to an added responsibility, AI² becomes the work of schools, using time and structures already in place – common planning time, professional development hours, and ILT meetings. Participating schools receive timely individual student data, facilitation support, and targeted instructional and leadership coaching. The principal/headmaster, content-area teacher leaders, and other selected ILT members also participate in monthly off-site AI² network meetings with teams from other schools.
 

Why it matters

Despite years of reform, too many young people continue to drop out of Boston’s high schools — 1,447 students in the 2007-2008 school year alone — and too many of those who do graduate are not prepared for the demands of college and the workforce. AI2 empowers school teams to tackle this problem by focusing energy where it matters – on individual student learning — and by fostering a culture of public practice and shared responsibility for student success.

By keeping the work of AI² schools closely linked to the performance targets outlined in Superintendent Johnson’s Acceleration Agenda and with the district accountability and support structures already in place, this initiative informs the district’s overall strategy for whole-school improvement. AI² ultimately provides all schools with lessons for how to systematically and sustainably improve student outcomes by establishing a culture of inquiry at every level within a school.

Download an introduction to the inquiry process, "Getting Small to Get Big Results" and a special report about this work "Getting On Track for Success."

For more information, contact:
Stephanie Sibley, BPE Chief Program Officer or

Shonda Huery, BPS Assistant Chief Academic Officer

A partnership of:  

Supported by: